As is known, one of the most effective solutions to the problem of loss of one or more teeth is to resort to a dental implant (provided in the ways that will be described hereinafter).
A larger number of these implants can of course be used to replace a plurality of missing teeth; as an alternative, faced with the lack of several teeth, the patient can receive a new dental arch, or a movable prosthesis which is provided monolithically, to be fixed to a plurality of implants.
According to one possible embodiment, a dental implant comprises an elongated pin, which is to be inserted in the upper or lower maxillary bone (in the position of the missing tooth) and substantially replicates the root of the lost tooth.
Externally to the gum, a supporting element protrudes from the pin and is designed to receive a retention cap which is associated with the prosthetic crown that simulates the original tooth.
In greater detail, the supporting element is substantially constituted by a spherical body: by applying a slight pressure it is possible to elastically accommodate such spherical body within a recess formed in the cap, thus achieving the desired coupling.
It is possible to resort to this type of coupling both to apply a single implant, designed to replace a missing tooth, and to apply a plurality of implants, which support a larger number of prosthetic crowns or a prosthesis that simulates an entire dental arch.
However, this solution is not free from drawbacks.
The sphere that protrudes from the gum in fact has a very substantial bulk, whereas the space within the mouth is minimal (especially if the mouth is to accommodate a prosthesis of the type of a dental arch).
Further, once the prosthesis has been disassembled (for cleaning, for example), one or more significantly protruding elements remain along the gum and cause discomfort when they come into contact with the antagonist part. In particular, the problem is especially felt when one does not wish to proceed immediately with reinsertion (for example to rest during the night).
Finally, it should be noted that during the operation for the application of a plurality of implants to a patient the surgeon often encounters difficulties in mutually aligning them precisely (for example due to a lack of parallelism of the pins inserted in the gum). Any displacements with respect to correct positioning allow insertion of the prosthesis only by forcing the coupling, with obvious traumas to the implants, which can compromise the correct outcome of the operation, with consequences that can even be as severe as premature loss of the pins or of the entire implant.